Dark Sleep
by Corbin Slate
Summary: Robin's POV during the episodes entitled The Demon's Quest
1. Ambushed

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Title: Dark Sleep

Rating: PG

By: Corbin

Disclaimer: Not claiming credit for anything, just trying to have a bit of fun.

Author's notes: The following fic is intended to show Robin's POV when he'd been taken captive by Ra's Al Guhl in the episodes titled The Demon's Quest. This is a WIP, it will be updated as soon as possible. Feedback is always appreciated.

It was raining that night, as it often does in Gotham City. I've never minded the rain, it always tends to make things more…interesting. I was returning home after a long and tiring night on patrol. My dorm bed was calling to me softly and I was all too ready to collapse into a dark sleep. Drawing on muscle memory from countless wall climes in the city I silently scaled the university's rain soaked walls and slipped into the window leading to my dorm room. 

I glanced down briefly at the puddle of rainwater that had gathered on the floor around my boots. I really should have cleaned it up, but I wasn't in the mood. I shrugged at the water and gently pulled the window closed. I turned to head toward the only thing that mattered to me at the moment. My bed.

Seconds later I had sensed something, not something, someone. I wasn't alone. My intuition had come to me too late and I stood in shock as someone flicked on my lamp. I strained to see the invader through the shadows, but whoever it was kept out of my line of sight. A gloved hand appeared from the shadows revealing a small silver gun and I cried out in a mixture of both protest and surprise, but the weapon had already been fired. I'd been hit, I flinched expecting to meet death head on in a few moments. 

Being shot hadn't hurt like I'd anticipated it would. My attacker had been in close range with a clear chance to end my life right there. I knew plenty of people would've liked to attend my funeral and walk over my grave, but I'd been hit purposefully in the shoulder. As I realized that I hadn't been seriously injured my vision blurred and I swayed dizzily on my feet. I stumbled forward on bones of Jell-O as I tried to force my body to cooperate with me and attack whoever had ambushed me. Moments later I was face down on the floor and in a sleep that no alarm clock would be able to end for many hours.

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…TBC…


	2. Familiarity Lost

_Title: Dark Sleep_

  


_By: Corbin_

  


_Disclaimer: Even if I said I owned Robin, nobody would ever believe me. So no I don't own anything and I don't get anything out of this, except a creative release. Hope you read and enjoy! _

  
  


All I could hear through my groggy thoughts was a loud droning noise. I tried to look around and figure out where I was, but I was so disoriented that I couldn't even discern what I now know was the sound of airplane props. My wrists were secured tightly to my armrests and I laughed nervously to myself as I tried to remember what I'd gotten myself into. 

Seconds later I heard a man's voice speaking in a language I didn't know. The man met my glazed look with a calm expression. He kept speaking to me in a soft almost kind tone, the man smiled at my blank stare. There was a sharp pinch in my forearm and I flinched pulling roughly against my restraints.

"Hey Pal! Come on fight fair!" I slurred at the man in an irritated tone as soft warmth once again enveloped me and I embraced a drugged oblivion for the second time that night. 

I remember being able to feel myself breathing as my senses slowly returned to me. I found that even after waiting several minutes I was not able to see and it took me a while to figure out that I had been blindfolded. I was incredibly thirsty and as I attempted to swallow the dryness assaulting my throat I felt the gag that had been tied a little too securely between my teeth for my comfort.

It was cool in the chamber I was being held in, despite the fact that I was unable to see the room felt very spacious, open. The floor felt smooth beneath my feet except for a few grains of sand underneath of my boots. There was nothing I recognized here. Everything sounded and smelled different, there was nothing of Gotham city nearby. I knew that I must have been very far away from home.

I had been left alone in that chamber for several hours. I sat on the stone fixture I had been tied to and dozed to pass the time. The sound of softly plodding feet made me pick my head up from between my shoulders. I tried to follow the sounds of the steps, whoever it was had stopped right in front of me. I felt a hand reach down and grip my chin, lifting my blinded eyes to proper eye contact level. 

He spoke. I still didn't understand a word he was saying, but I did recognize the voice. It was the man who'd been with me on the plane. I felt the gag between my teeth loosen and fall around my neck like a slack choke collar. I swallowed nothing gratefully and wished for a glass of ice water.

Something cool touched my lips and instinctively I clenched my teeth. The man holding the cup of mystery liquid chuckled softly at my mistrust and gently squeezed my jaw trying to get me to relax and drink whatever it was he was offering. Stubbornly I refused to let up and I felt the man move his fingers to the pressure point under my jaw-line. He pressed down, hard. I felt myself yelp and then I was choking on some of the liquid that had been in the cup.

I gasped and coughed drowning from the inside and I took a few seconds to recover my composure. The cup was offered once more and I found myself reluctantly accepting the sweet drink. Whatever it was tasted better than anything I'd had to drink in a very long time. It was sweet like a nectarine and cool against my dry mouth. I took the drink in greedy swallows and I almost protested when it was taken away.

I could hear the soft footsteps steadily fading away from me. I was alone and I couldn't see anyway out of this, I needed help. I needed my mentor. I needed Batman. I hoped it would only be a matter of time before I would be back in my city, but I knew in the back of my mind I might never see anything familiar again.

TBC


	3. Move

_A/N: I know that I haven't updated this in like forever, but I tell myself that I never really abandon any story. I just let them sit until I'm ready to play with it again. Standard disclaimers apply and the direction of this story is about to change... drastically from the episode that it is based upon. _

In the back of my mind it occurred to me that maybe he wouldn't come for me. Maybe he couldn't. Batman was after all just a man. There were limits even to what he could do. Despite the fact that I understood this it still left a bitter taste in the back of my throat.

My head jerked up at the sound of footsteps coming in my direction. Multiple footsteps. One set was light and sure; the other was heavy and lumbering. A leader and a follower. Perhaps a master and a servant. I flicked my closed eyes back and forth behind my blindfold, wishing that I could see what was about to happen to me. Maybe this was the end for me.

I set my jaw and tried to ignore my guts turning to jelly beneath my red tunic. If I was going to die; then I wasn't going to go whimpering like a beaten pup.

The footsteps stopped in front of me. I could hear the big one breathing like an ox. I imagined his nostrils flaring in and out like a beast. I hoped that I wouldn't have to face him soon; I could almost feel the muscle mass standing next to me.

Fingers snapped and I heard the big guy move towards me. I flinched at the feel of cold steel against my forearms. The bonds around my arms, securing me to the pillar jerked and I heard the sound of ropes giving in to sharp pressure. I fell forward as the ropes dropped to the floor. As I tried to move to free myself I realized that my hands were still tightly bound behind me, but I was no longer tethered to the stone pillar. I felt the big guys hands clamp down on my middle as he moved to lift me up. I grunted as he slung me roughly over his shoulder, almost as if carrying a person this way was a normal act.

I didn't struggle with him. I had no desire to have my rib cage crushed to a pulp. I felt my head flop as he moved. I was weak. I hadn't eaten in nearly four days from the feel of my stomach. Someone had been kind enough to regularly let me sip juice and see to it that I didn't wet myself. If I was going to be killed I didn't see the point in making sure that I didn't die from dehydration. I didn't see the point in not letting me sit there in my own fluids. But then again I wasn't a criminal, and no matter how much I studied them I'd never fully grasp why they acted as they did.

Sand. We were traveling in sand now. I could feel the big guy compensating for my extra weight and the tricky terrain. He shifted me on his shoulder and I cringed slightly. For a second I thought he meant to dump me to the ground. Tied like this I wouldn't be able to defend myself.

My ears picked up the sound of a car engine running. I felt the big guy shift me again, this time he moved me off his shoulder and set me in the running car. I felt someone get in beside me. The Master, by the way the car didn't bend beneath the weight.

The car interior was cold compared to outside. I shivered involuntarily; I could feel the bare skin on my arms prickling. I sat and listened to the thrum of the car engine. The car bent under the weight of the big guy as he took the driver's seat.

I turned my head at the sound of ice clinking into crystal. The person next to me was pouring himself a drink. I licked my lips and longed for clean ice water. I stiffened as the cold rim of a glass touched my lips. I could smell the liquid inside was not water. It smelled like a strong dark tea. I wanted to turn my head away from the offering, but I was so thirsty. I relaxed my jaw and drank. The bitter herbal taste hit my tongue and I nearly choked. After I had taken a few small sips the drink was taken away and all I heard was the rumbling of the car as we left.

I let my head rest against the window as I felt even weaker than before. I could feel my fingers trembling beneath my green gloves. Maybe it was just fear and fatigue taking their toll on me. Maybe it was the tea I had drank that was affecting me. My eyes were already closed beneath the blindfold when nothingness took me.

TBC!


	4. Boundaries

_Wow... I know I haven't updated this in years, but hey miracles happen. Update is finally here. :) yay. __  
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I've never been in a fix quite like this one. Sure, I've had slip ups, been captured, had my life hanging in the balance, but I have never had someone keep me for so long without telling me what they wanted out of me or even just threatening to kill me. No one here spoke in a language that I could understand.

They were feeding me now, which made me think that someone was now planning on my stay being a fairly long one. Bread and watery soup twice a day, and I ate all that was offered to me. I was taken out to use the restroom at random intervals during the day (or night, I'm not sure of the times). The room I was being held in was small and dim. Concrete walls and no access to natural lighting to provide me with any sense of time. They may have been attempting to disorient me or it could have just been that the cell wasn't made for long term use.

I tried to bide my time as I waited for a chance to try to make an escape. During one of my trips to use the bathroom and wash my face, I decided to try and make a run for it. The man escorting me trusted me enough now that he didn't bother to tie my feet together. He thought that having my hands bound behind me was enough to keep me subdued.

The rear leg roundhouse kick to the side of his head came as a complete shock. He let out a stunned grunt and staggered sideways as he tried to regain his balance. I hopped and landed another fairly solid kick to the opposite side of his face that flung him to the hard floor.

He clutched his head, which must have been spinning, with loose hands. I contorted my body to get my hands low enough so that I could step over the rope pinning my hands together. Once my hands were in front of me, I ran for all that I was worth.

It wasn't hard to creep up behind the men guarding the exit. The shadows in the corridor were a huge help. I wondered if I could subdue the two men before the one I had already attacked came to warn them.

My strength had suffered due to the meager rations and my lack of ability to keep up with my normal exercise routine. My legs were trembling from my first encounter, but there was no time to recover now. I bolstered myself with a few deep breaths and made my assault.

It was lucky for me that they had not expected me to be there. In fact, they looked bored, even sleepy. This couldn't have been the most exciting job in the world. I hit the man on the right side of the doorway on the side of his head with my tied hands and sidekicked the other man in the chest. They were stunned long enough that I was able to work out of the ropes on my wrists and run out the door.

I hit the sand and nearly tripped because of the change in terrain. The harsh sunlight blinded me for several seconds, and as soon as I could see I realized that there was nothing but sand all around. There was nowhere to run to. I could hear several voices behind me, and from the sound of the general tone they were not happy with me.

"I was beginning to wonder when you would test your boundaries," said a smooth voice that was hidden behind a mask in the shape of a jackal. "At last we can begin your training."

I stiffened as several men surrounded me and started to close in the space between us. I clenched my fists tight and adjusted my fighting stance.

"A lesson in submission will do well for now," said the voice.

The sand sucked my boots in deeper as I shifted again. A command was given in a foreign tongue, and in a blur of hot wind and sand the men pounced on me. They dragged me back to my small prison cell in spite of the struggle I put up. I felt one of the men pulling at one of my boots, while another yanked off my cape.

There were so many strong hands holding me and working at various pieces of my uniform that in just a few moments they had stripped me bare. Not even my mask was left in place. I tensed as I waited for one of them to take a cheapshot and kick me while I was completely defenseless. No one did. They dropped me to the floor and left, locking the cell door behind them.

Hot anger filled me. My empty stomach growled, and my muscles trembled with fatigue. It wasn't until I squatted down on the cold stone floor that I realized how much warmth my uniform had provided.

At one point I was dozing out of exhaustion, huddled in a ball against the stone wall, when the door opened with a loud groan. I didn't notice it as it melded with what I was dreaming. My body jerked in surprise when hands grabbed me beneath the shoulders and yanked me to my feet. I was dragged out of the cell and through the hall into a room that I was not familiar with.

The soft rug in the middle of the room broke my fall as I was shoved to my knees. I gave one of the men a glare before I started to glance around the room. There was lavender oil burning nearby and another smell, something that I wasn't sure of, though Batman probably would have recognized it. A guard shoved my head down toward the rug, forcing me to stare at the carpet. I resisted with a grunt and made a futile effort to stand.

"Stubborn, aren't you?"

One of the men pressed a pressure point near my armpit that sent shards of pain through my shoulder all the way down to my fingertips. It took only a few seconds to convince me to stop struggling. The man in the jackal mask drew nearer.

"No doubt you've noticed the scent of lavender in the room," he said calmly. I was staring at the tips of his shiny black boots now. "The herb has a natural calming property, and when combined with the right ingredients can have some rather startling effects on the mind in a concentrated dose."

The man in the mask knelt down, bringing himself to my level. I could see now that he was holding something, a small satchel. He poured a small amount of the stuff into his hand, and from what I could tell it looked like fine grained white sand. He blew the dust at me, and it hit me in the face. I held my breath, and blinked at the dust that he had blown in my eyes. It stung.

The man in the mask chuckled as I blinked back tears. "What do you want?" I asked.

"You'll see in time my young friend." He laughed again and turned away from me. My body was starting to tingle. I was beginning to feel loose, almost drunken.

"What did you do?" I bit back the urge to giggle. Man, I was feeling out of it.

"Merely utilized a tool to gain your cooperation. I have neither the time nor the patience to cultivate your trust. You must be subdued before we will be able to continue as planned."

I didn't like the sound of that one bit, but it wasn't as if I had much of a choice in the matter.

TBC...


End file.
